Barnstable Silver Bullets Division 5 Pee Wees Stage Near Upset Over Hingham, But Fall in Fourth Quarter

      The Barnstable Silver Bullets Division 5 Pee Wees staged one of their best-ever performances last Sunday afternoon at W. Leo Shields Memorial Field in round one of the OCYFL Playoffs, but in the end undefeated Hingham came away the victors, 26-14.
But Barnstable had Hingham on the ropes, as the Silver Bullets headed to halftime with great momentum and a well-deserved, hard-earned, 8-6 lead.
     Coming out of the half and receiving Hingham’s kickoff, Barnstable’s Michael Bilodeau stepped into the breach and returned the kick 60 yards to the Hingham 10-yard line. Unfortunately, a holding penalty on a five-yard run by Rob Stuart on 1st and goal pushed the Bullets back to the Hingham 20-yard line to bring up 1st and 20. On the ensuing play, Hingham solved Barnstable’s strong outside game for a loss of yards to bring up 2nd and 22. Stuart then gained four yards on a solid run, but 3rd and 18 was daunting enough for the Bullets as its pass attempt went into the hands of Hingham star Sam Benger who took the ball 90 yards down the sideline to make it 12-8, Hingham.
      Bullets’ defensive tackle Patrick Thompson stuffed the 2-point conversion attempt, but the momentum Hingham simultaneously stopped and created for itself was enough to embolden it past the host Bullets. Hingham never relinquished the lead in spite of a solid effort by the Bullets, a no-quit effort exclamated by halfback Matt Lambert who scored a three-tackle-breaking, 22-yard touchdown on the game’s final play.
Barnstable’s defense was the true story of the first half as it pounded everything it had against the prolific Hingham offense.
      Linebackers Conor Walsh, Marcus Cunningham, Krisitian Lucashensky, Matt Lambert and Max Lambert continuously stopped Hingham from gaining the big yards it had been accustomed to all season. Defensive tackles Brandon Wilkinson, Lee Hickey, Patrick Thompson and Seamus Murray arguably played their finest game of the season, while defensive ends Hayden Murphy, Rob Stuart and Derek Estes were uncompromising in the outside lanes. Cornerbacks Johnny Hardy and Timmy Roderigues, along with safety Danny Skala were equally relentless in their pursuit of the speedy Hingham running backs, with Hardy making one of the most spectacular tackles of the season.
      Leading the defense was the linebacking quartet of Walsh (7.0 tackles – 6 solo, 2 assisted), Cunningham (6.5 tackles – 4 solo, 5 assisted), Matt Lambert (5.5 tackles – 2 solo, 7 assisted), Lucashensky (4.0 tackles – 2 solo, 4 assisted), Derek Estes (2.0 tackles – 2 solo), Patrick Thompson (1.5 tackles – 1 solo, 1 assisted), Skala (1.5 tackles – 1 solo, 1 assisted), Seamus Murray (1.0 tackles, solo), Hardy (1.0 tackles, solo), Hayden Murphy (1.0 tackles, 2 assisted, 1 forced incompletion), Max Lambert (1.0 tackles, solo), David Poissant (1.0 tackles, solo), Lee Hickey (1.0 tackles, 2 assisted), Drew Lambert (0.5 tackles, assisted) and Brandon Wilkinson (0.5 tackles, assisted).
      Leading the offense was quarterback Hayden Murphy who carried the ball 8 times for 77 yards, including a 56-yard quarterback keeper that set the stage for Barnstable’s first touchdown score (which he would score). Following Murphy was halfback Rob Stuart who carried the pigskin 7 times for 33 yards, halfback Cunningham who carrie the ball 4 times for 16 yards and who went 1-3 passing for a 2-point conversion, halfback Matt Lambert who carried the ball twice for 44 yards and a touchdown, halfback Darien Kaski who has 1 carry (1 yard) and had to come out of the game early, and Drew Lambert who had one carry.
      Derek Estes caught two passes for 15 yards from his slot at tight end. Nathan Yingling also caught one pass for 5 yards gained late in the fourth quarter. Murphy went 1-2 passing and Lucashensky went 2-2 passing.
      Hingham won the coin toss at the onset of this thrilling playoff game and elected to receive. Barnstable’s defense answered the call highlighted by repeated tackles made by Matt Lambert (2.0 tackles) and Marcus Cunningham (2.5 tackles) in the first series. The final play for the Bullets’ defense was a tremendous tackle made by Matt Lambert.
      The Barnstable power backfield of Walsh, Stuart and Cunningham then proceeded to march down the field only to stall, but not before a fantastic fake punt attempt by Hayden Murphy who fell just short of a first down on 4th and 12.
      On Hingham’s ensuing possession, Seamus Murray, Lucashensky and Walsh alternated with fine tackles before Hingham’s Sam Benger bolted off tackle for a 50-yard touchdown score to make it 6-0. Patrick Thompson then made the stop on the 2-point PAT.
Hingham attempted and was successful with an onside kick on its kickoff, recovering the ball at the Barnstable 40-yard line. Matt Lambert, Walsh and Cunningham then made hit after hit, culminating on 4th and 4 with Cunningham’s best defensive play of the year, a vicious stop of Hingham’s Benger at midfield.
      Inspired, perhaps, by his teammate’s hard stop, Murphy then took advantage of an outstanding block by tight end Seamus Murray and rolled 56 yards into Hingham territory. Rob Stuart slammed his way to a 14-yard run on 1st and 10, followed by a Cunningham 5-yard jaunt. Cunningham went at it again for four more yards to bring up 3rd and goal on the two-yard line. Murphy then saw a moment of opportunity and seized it with a quarterback sneak into paydirt to tie the game at 6-6.
      Cunningham then rolled left on the 2-point PAT, taking the pitch from Murphy and fired a strike to a diving Derek Estes to make it 8-6, Barnstable.
Max Lambert made a vicious tackle on the kickoff return attempt by Hingham, followed by fine hits by Matt Lambert, Walsh and an unreal diving tackle by cornerback Johnny Hardy. Hardy and Skala then batted down a deep pass attempt by Hingham and the first half was completed with the Silver Bullets ahead, 8-6.
Confident and armed with a great deal of momentum, the lanky, speedy Mike Bilodeau scooped up Hingham’s half-opening kickoff and raced 60 yards to the Hingham 10-yard line. Barnstable seemed poised to take complete control of the game and the din of the home crowd revealed just that.
But the momentum in the game would soon shift dramatically in Hingham’s favor.
Rob Stuart bolted for a gain of six yards on what would have brought up second and goal for the hosts, but a holding penalty brought the play back and put the Bullets in a 1st and 10 situation on the Hingham 20-yard line. The ensuing play went nowhere and Barnstable faced 2nd and 22. Stuart again got the nod and picked up four hard-earned yards, but the Bullets were looking at 3rd and 18. A pass attempt was then picked off by Hingham’s fastest player, Benger, and he raced 90 yards for a touchdown to make it 12-8, Hingham. Again, defensive tackle Patrick Thompson was an inspiration on the defensive line, stopping the two-point conversion cold. Barnstable appeared to still be in the thick of things and hope was not quashed.
      Stuart got the nod on 1st and 10 after the Hingham kick for a gain of 6 yards to bring up 2nd and 4. Cunningham got the call next for a gain of one yard to make it 3rd and 3. Stuart again got the nod and it appeared also the first down but again a holding call put Barnstable in a precarious position of 3rd and 13. The ensuing play went nowhere and on 4th and 14 Cunningham was viciously sacked just as he was about to throw it deep to Estes. Hingham recovered on the Barnstable 30 yard line.
     With his team still in the game, Walsh made tackles on four of Hingham’s ensuing five plays, spiced up by a pair of fine Lucashensky tackles and a pair of hard hits by Matt Lambert. But Hingham sniffed it had the advantage and it was right as Josh Genovese punched it in when it appeared the Bullets had nothing left in its collective tank. The score was Hingham, 18, Barnstable 8 on the fourth play of the 4th quarter. The two-point conversion was good and Hingham had all it would need to put this one away at 20-8.
     Matt Lambert scored on the final play of the fourth quarter on one of the gutsiest, no-quit plays of the season as he broke tackle after tackle with no time left on the clock to keep the Bullets’ pride intact. The finale was Hingham 26, Barnstable 14. The Division 5 Pee Wees finished the regular season at 3-3-1 and were 0-1 in the postseason. The team was coached by Sean Walsh, Jim Murphy, Art Pacheco, Mark McWilliams and Pat Murray.
      The offensive line of Josh Bestford (center), Lee Hickey (guard), Noah Johnson (guard), Matt Tracy (tackle), Wilkinson (tackle), Murray (tight end) and Estes (tight end) played one of their best games of the season and performed like the true “heroes” they were throughout the year.
      Other Silver Bullets who performed to their very best in this game included Luke Fitzgerald (defensive end), Jeremy Morton (Safety), Thomas Demetriades (linebacker), Justin McNealy (Cornerback), Justus Chaffee (Cornerback), Timmy Roderigues (cornerback), Tom Sances (tackle), Timmy Ebert (cornerback), Brandon Lynch (linebacker), Bo Delaney (halfback), Taryn Tinti (tackle), Joe Dean (tackle), Colby McWilliams (linebacker), Eric Beaulieu (tackle) and Sean Stephens (tackle). Two team members who were a huge part of this team who could not suit up to play in the game due to injuries were Brian Reid and Dereck Pacheco.
The Barnstable Silver Bullets 20th Annual Postseason Banquet and Awards Dinner will be held on Sunday, Nov. 19 at 5:30 p.m. at the Four Points Sheraton in Hyannis. The evening will be highlighted with a special guest appearance by Barnstable High School Varsity Head Football Coach Paul “Spanky” Demanche and the Red Raider’s senior tri-captains, C.J. Ellis, Zach Wilson and Donny Campbell.

Barnstable Silver Bullets D5 Pee Wees Defeat Scituate, 10-8, with Superb Defense

The Barnstable Silver Bullets’ Division 5 Pee Wees defeated Scituate on the road last Sunday (Sept. 25), 10-8, thanks to a fantastic final minute goal-line stand that resulted in a safety in the Scituate end zone.

      Barnstable’s special teams and defense were spectacular throughout the game. Bullets’ running back and kick returner Darien Kaski was the star of the show, pounding out 170 all-purpose yards including a 50-yard kick return touchdown, 30-yard kick return and 85 yards rushing on 12 carries.

      Barnstable’s two safeties were caused by defensive end Hayden Murphy and cornerback Darien Kaski in the first quarter, and then by outside linebacker Marcus Cunningham with just one minute remaining in the fourth quarter.

      Murphy went 2-5 passing on the day at quarterback for 15 yards and had five yards on four carries rushing. Brian Reid had 8 yards on four carries, followed by Cunningham who had four yards on two carries and Bo Delaney who had two yards on one carry. Kaski had runs of 28, 22, 12 and 10 yards for his big gains on the day. His totals of 85 yards rushing and 85 yards on kick returns gave him 170 all-purpose yards.

      Outside linebacker Marcus Cunningham led all Barnstable tacklers with 4.5 tackles, followed by middle linebacker Conor Walsh (4.0 tackles), Hayden Murphy (3.5 tackles), Rob Stuart (3.5 tackles), Patrick Thompson (3.0 tackles), Seamus Murray (2.5 tackles), Darien Kaski (2.0 tackles), Timmy Rodrigues (2.5 tackles), Matt Lambert (2.0 tackles), Dereck Pacheco (1.0 tackles), Danny Skala (1.0 tackles), John Hardy (0.5 tackles) and Max Lambert (0.5 tackles).

      Dereck Pacheco’s opening kickoff was critical in Barnstable’s victory as he launched a boot that rolled to the Scituate goal line. The Barnstable kick team sped down the field and it was Max Lambert and Darien Kaski that made the tackle at the one-yard line to give Barnstable a prime advantage in Scituate’s opening offensive series.

      After combination tackles in the backfield by Patrick Thompson/Seamus Murray and Rob Stuart/Marcus Cunningham, Hayden Murphy and Darien Kaski landed the Scituate running back in the end zone for a safety to make it 2-0, Barnstable.

      Kaski then dropped back to receive Scituate’s kickoff and promptly returned it 50 yards for a touchdown to quickly make it 8-0. The two-point conversion attempt failed, but Barnstable still had the opening lead.

      Barnstable’s defense then staged a magnificent stop on defense at midfield led by Matt Lambert, Conor Walsh, Brian Reid, John Hardy and Tim Rodrigues to put the Bullets’ back in prime position to score again. Eight plays later, however, Barnstable was left on the one-yard line unable to punch it in and the first quarter expired. The Bullets till led, 8-0.
      Rob Stuart, Rodrigues, Patrick Thompson and Dereck Pacheco then each turned in solid tackles on defense until Scituate broke free on the outside for a 70-yard touchdown to make it 8-6. The two-point conversion attempt off tackle was successful and the score was tied, 8-8.
Kaski returned Scituate’s kickoff 30 yards to put Barnstable in good field position to score once again, but after four plays the Bullets were forced to punt.
Seamus Murray, Matt Lambert, Conor Walsh and Marcus Cunningham then combined to stop Scituate on four plays at midfield to take over ball possession on downs.

      Bullets quarterback Hayden Murphy hit Cunningham in the open flat for a nice 7-yard gain on Barnstable’s first play of the possession to bring up 2nd and 3, followed by an incomplete pass to bring up 3rd and 3. Kaski ripped off a 10-yard run for first down but time expired in the half and the score remained 8-8.
Barnstable opened the second half on offense but could not muster much yardage and was forced to punt. The Bullets’ defense went to work once more.
Noseguard Pat Thompson, Cunningham and defensive tackle Rob Stuart each made tackles to bring up a critical 4th and 1 with Scituate seemingly determined to not let this one slip away on their home turf, but as they tried to run up the gut to get the first down, the Scituate ball carrier was met by Rob Stuart and Conor Walsh who stopped him cold to take over ball possession on the Barnstable 40-yard line.
      Kaski, Reid and Murphy went to work trying to push the ball deep into Scituate territory with hopes of hitting paydirt, but on a tough 4th and 7, Kaski was stopped just short of a first down on the Scituate 30.
      The Bullets’ defense then mustered enough steam to close the books on Scituate’s offense once and for all, with Murphy, Skala, Stuart, Walsh and Cunningham each making key tackles. On 3rd and 8, Scituate tried to run around defensive end Murray who stopped the ball carrier cold and caused a fumble but Scituate recovered to bring up 4th and 10. Walsh made the final stop and Barnstable again took over on downs. Murray had to come out of the game with a slight injury, but he had succeeded in giving the Bullets’ everything he had.
      Kaski responded by ripping off his best run of the day from the line of scrimmage, a 28-yard sweepm followed immediately by a nice 9-yard jaunt by Brian Reid. Kaski picked up another five yards on the ensuing play for a first down and it looked like the Bullets were going to march right into the end zone. Four plays later, however, it was not to be and the Bullets’ defense was forced to get the job done once more with Scituate on its own 19-yard line.
Kaski dropped the Scituate ball carrier on 1st and 10 for a four-yard loss to bring up 2nd and 14, but on the ensuing play, Barnstable got lucky. Scituate ran off a 25-yard run for an apparent first down, but a holding call brought it back to the line of scrimmage and tacked on five yards for the penalty to bring up 2nd and 19 on the Scituate 10-yard line.
      Cunningham got the nod and tore through the Scituate backfield like a man possessed and just as the quarterback was about to pitch it right for an outside sweep, the linebacker nailed him hard causing the ball to go awry. The Scituate running back dove on the loose ball in the end zone. Barnstable had its second safety of the game and a 10-8 lead with under a minute left in the fourth quarter.

Barnstable Silver Bullets D5 Midgets and D5 Pee Wees Fall to Hingham

The Barnstable Silver Bullets Division 5 Pee Wees defeated Pembroke on Saturday, 14-6, thanks to fantastic touchdown runs by halfback Bo Delaney and quarterback Kristian Lucashensky. John Hardy and Timmy Roderigues also ran the ball well for Barnstable, but it was a beautiful, 35-yard run by halfback Danny Skala that set up Barnstable’s first score of the day (Bo Delaney).
Defensive end Nathan Yingling played a spectacular game as did Patrick Thompson on both sides of the ball.
In Barnstable’s game on Sunday (Sept. 10) the end result was not quite what the Silver Bullets had hoped for as the boys lost to host Hingham, 22-14.
Darien Kaski had the run of the day, a 70-yard touchdown burst in the first quarter that put Barnstable behind at just 8-6. The PAT attempted pass failed. Kaski ended the day with 109 yards rushing on 9 carries. Quarterback Hayden Murphy punched in a nice touchdown with Barnstable on the Hingham goal line in the second quarter, followed by a Brian Reid two-point PAT run that made it 14-8, Barnstable.
Reid amassed 55 yards rushing on the day on 6 carries. Seamus Murray had one reception for five yards on a nice pass from Hayden Murphy that set up Murphy’s touchdown run.
Hingham’s defense swarmed punter Dereck Pacheco near the end of the first half, however, and pounced on the ball in the end zone to make it 14-14 with time running out. Hingham’s PAT run around end was a success and the halftime score was 16-14, in favor of Hingham.
Barnstable’s defense was gutsy throughout the day, led by linebackers Marcus Cunningham, Conor Walsh, Matt Lambert and Kristian Lucashensky, while cornerbacks Darien Kaski, Brian Reid and Justus Chaffee were phenomenal throughout the game.
Safeties Mike Bilodeau and Danny Skala were equally impressive, making nice stops throughout the game. Defensive linemen Brandon Wilkinson and Lee Hickey were fantastic with Hickey routinely getting deep penetration into the Hingham backfield. The end result, however, was not what the boys in Red had hoped for as Hingham sealed the victory with a third quarter touchdown. Barnstable gained zero yards in the second half on the ground or in the air.
This week, Barnstable’s Division 5 teams head to Hanover on Sunday afternoon, while the Silver Bullets’ Division 1 teams head to Bridgewater.

Head Coach - Sean Walsh

Asst. Coach - Jim Murphy

Asst. Coach - Art Pacheco

Asst. Coach - Pat Murray

Asst. Coach - Mark McWilliams